FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: PGHGuild@gmail.com
Dylan Manshack, dmanshack@cwa-union.org
Moira Bulloch, mbulloch@cwa-union.org
The Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism is currently considering how much of the existing PG staff it will keep as the purchase of PG nears completion.
PITTSBURGH — Federal and local officials sent an open welcome letter to leadership of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s incoming ownership on Wednesday afternoon, urging the Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism to maintain a robust staff as well as a good-faith bargaining relationship with members of the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh.
It was signed by members of Congress Chris Deluzio and Summer L. Lee, state senators Jay Costa and Lindsey Williams, state representatives Aerion Abney, Jessica Benham, Dan Goughnour, Emily Kinkead, Jen Mazzocco, and Arvind Venkat, Allegheny County Councilmembers Aaron Adams, Jordan Botta, Lissa Geiger Shulman, Dan Grzybek, Bethany Hallam, and Alex Rose, as well as Pittsburgh City Councilmembers Deb Gross, Barb Warwick, and Khari Mosley.
“Although we fully anticipate days in which your workers’ critical coverage scrutinizes us closely, as public figures, we embrace those days,” the letter states. “It’s part of our responsibility to the public we serve.”
“That same responsibility extends to informing you of some basic foundations for success here.”
The letter goes on to wish the new leadership group well, describe some of the ways in which local residents helped union journalists win their three-year strike against an historically lawless union-busting attempt by the Block family, and emphasize that many local readers will not accept any attempts at washing away those wins.
The one-page letter arrives as the Institute weighs how much of the existing PG staff it will retain ahead of finalizing its purchase of the publication from Block Communications Inc.
Since the April 14 announcement of the purchase of the Post-Gazette, Venetoulis Institute and Choice Hotel International Chair Stewart Bainum Jr. has repeatedly stated that the size of the PG staff is not supported by its current business model. Workers have re-interviewed for their jobs in 20-minute conversations with Institute leadership.
Though Venetoulis Institute CEO Bob Cohn was initially vague in response to questions about the group’s intentions with respect to the Guild, following some critical local news coverage and the launch of a petition urging new ownership to bargain in good faith and maintain robust staffing levels, the Institute informed the Guild it would be recognizing the union’s standing and looking forward to bargaining a new contract.
Wednesday’s letter largely echoes the demands of the petition that has been signed by more than 1,300 people at time of writing.
The elected officials’ letter concludes: “Any path forward that separates the future of the Post-Gazette from the dignity of its workers will misread this city entirely. In Pittsburgh, solidarity is a shared ethic, not just a sentiment that we profess, but a commitment that we practice.
“We want to see you benefit from that same commitment from our communities well into the future. That trust is precious. And in a union town, it’s invaluable.”
###